


Thirteen Years On

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 18:17:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10541910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Thirteen years after Blair becomes a  detective, the Commissioner wants to split Jim and Blair, partnering each with someone else.





	

Thirteen Years On

by Bluewolf

If Blair ever regretted throwing away his academic career, he had never, in the thirteen years he had been a detective, given any sign of it.

Simon sometimes wondered, especially when Blair made one of his anthropology-slanted comments on a case, but he had long since decided that silence on the subject was the kindest way to go.

As for Jim... He had spent the last thirteen years feeling guilty. He had never let it show, but he couldn't help but feel that he should have done something - although he wasn't sure what - back then, something that could have salvaged Blair's academic reputation without outing himself. He could never afford to out himself. Different if the PD had a squad of sentinels (though when he remembered his reaction to Alex Barnes, he wasn't sure if a squad of sentinels was a viable option) but a single one? Every crime boss in Cascade would have a contract on his head as soon as they learned about him, and his life expectancy thereafter would be very short.

But all three knew that the conspiracy of silence they had entered seventeen years earlier couldn't last much longer.

Simon was due to retire.

All right, Jim and Blair were an established partnership - but established partnerships could be split up, and each paired with someone else - it was accepted that anyone coming new to a unit would be partnered with someone who had been in it for a while, even if it meant splitting an extremely successful pair. Indeed, the very successful pairs were often the first to be split, in the expectation that each one would inspire his new partner and give the department two highly successful pairs instead of one. Simon had known why splitting the Ellison-Sandburg partnership was not a good idea, so they had been left together. There was surprisingly little resentment in Major Crime over that - other good pairs had been split - but although nothing had been said openly, all the MC detectives knew that there was a good reason for it.

At the time of Blair's press conference, the then Commissioner and Chief of Police had, of necessity, been told a little - though not everything, just enough to let them understand the situation - but one had retired some four years earlier and the other two years earlier, and their replacements knew nothing.

It wasn't that Jim didn't trust his fellow officers; but it was too easy for two men in the know, talking together during a quiet night out and mentioning it, to be overheard.

***

There was nothing particularly ominous in Simon's invitation to Jim and Blair to join him for dinner one night. Certainly it was more common for Simon to join Jim and Blair, if only because of the three of them it was Blair who actually liked cooking, and was, in addition, the best cook. Indeed, Jim and Simon often joked that Blair should have become a chef rather than an anthropologist-turned-cop. Blair, however, while accepting the joke in the spirit in which it was meant, knew that much though he enjoyed cooking he wouldn't want to spend his life in the kitchen.

They took a twelve-pack of beer when they drove to Simon's - Simon, they knew, didn't much care for wine, and indeed - although they both enjoyed an occasional glass of wine, both admitted that they, too, preferred beer.

But when Simon opened the door for them, both men knew that there was a problem - not so much from the expression on his face but from the lack of one.

None of them said anything, however, until after they had eaten and were settled comfortably with a beer each in front of Simon's fire. This had been their custom for many years; enjoy the meal, and then if there was something to discuss, approach it.

On this occasion, however, Jim and Blair - remembering the non-expression on Simon's face - were reluctant to broach this subject, whatever it was... and Simon seemed equally reluctant.

Finally Blair broke the silence. "What's the problem, Simon?"

"Carstairs has handed in his resignation."

Jim nodded. Steve Carstairs had been with Major Crime for twenty years. A steady detective with a reasonable solve rate, he and his partner, Ken Morgan, had never been given high profile cases but had been pretty good with the kind of crime that was pushed to Page 3 in the papers no later than the day after it was first reported. He had known that Carstairs was close to retirement, so this was no real surprise. "Means we'll be getting someone new."

"Yes; there's no word yet who it'll be. But I've been given direct orders - partner Blair with Morgan, effective immediately because Carstairs has enough leave time due that he only has to work a couple of days, and that'll be spent finalizing his paperwork; and you with the new guy. And if I refuse, it'll only be a very temporary reprieve; whoever takes over from me two weeks from now will do it."

Jim and Blair glanced at each other. "Any idea who is taking over from you?" Jim asked.

"I've heard it would be Paul Stafford - he's from one of the other precincts."

"A totally new broom, huh?" Blair muttered.

"He's got something of a reputation for kow-towing to the guys at the top," Simon added.

"Gee - I wonder why he got the job," Blair muttered.

"Commissioner Josephs doesn't like anyone with the backbone to point out to him that some of the ways he wants the department to run don't necessarily work," Jim said, taking Blair's question at face value. "You've crossed swords with him a couple of times, Simon, haven't you."

As Simon nodded, Blair frowned slightly. "Something you never told me?"

"You didn't need to know," Jim told him. "At the time. Now... This is the third time Josephs has tried to have us split. First time was when Ivan Cox and Rob Merry joined Major Crime just after Josephs took over as Commissioner. Second time was when Sara Williams and Lily Young came in - he didn't want two women partnered in Major Crime, thought that two women together wouldn't be tough enough to handle major crimes although they'd been a damned good pairing in Homicide. Simon dug his heels in both times. But now, with Simon leaving and a yes-man appointed...

"Now, I have enough seniority that I can refuse to work with whoever takes Carstairs' place, demand that I be allowed to work alone. You, on the other hand... Ken Morgan doesn't have the insight - Steve provided that. You were a better detective than Ken'll ever be when you were still just an observer with a few weeks' experience. He's good with routine; but he needs a strong partner."

Blair frowned. "So why me, rather than you?"

Jim and Simon glanced at each other. Finally Simon sighed. "Josephs isn't an entire idiot. He knows that Jim's a good detective. But he also knows that Jim's success rate improved after you came on board, even just as an observer. In his eyes, that makes you the better detective. We all know that Ken Morgan is a steady, if uninspired, detective, but that if he's to stay in Major Crime he needs a strong partner. In Jospehs' opinion, that's you rather than Jim."

"All I do - "

" - is use that remarkable mind of yours to see connections everyone else misses," Jim said quietly.

Blair shook his head. "Is help keep you centered so that you find the evidence every crook leaves behind. And that worries me; you haven't zoned out in ages, but without someone who knows the score around? you'll be in danger of zoning out."

"You think that?" Simon asked.

Blair sighed. "It's something you've never really wanted to know, Simon. Never really wanted to admit.

"There's a subconscious link between a sentinel and his companion. Just as there are several possible words for a sentinel, there are several possible words that can be used for the companion. Brackett called me Jim's guide and that tends to be the word we use - but 'companion' itself serves, or 'partner' or 'helper'. Even 'assistant' would do. But the words all indicate someone that the sentinel, guardian, watchman -  whatever you might call him - uses for support. Someone with only one sense enhanced doesn't really have a problem; but when all five are top of the range the potential for a problem is pretty high. There can be too much input. You know that. In the past you've had to deal with a zone-out or two when I wasn't here."

"Not for a long time," Simon protested.

"Agreed, because over the years Jim's learned how to manage his senses efficiently - but he can still be caught out by something unexpected. Just having me near is usually enough to prevent a problem - but 'usually' is the catch."

Jim took over. "Even after all the years we've worked together... It doesn't really show now, because I can catch the onset of a problem before anyone notices it, but there are still times I have to reach out to Sandburg to keep that problem from developing. If he's in the same room, that can be enough - but if we're partnered with different people, out on different cases, checking crime scenes, interviewing witnesses... and how do you think Morgan would react to having his senior partner called when they were in the middle of investigating something because his ex-partner needed his hand held? Assuming anyone realized that Blair could help me and I wasn't just rushed off to hospital for a mysterious collapse?"

"There's only one thing we can do," Blair said.

"You're not suggesting we tell Josephs?" Simon asked. "Because I wouldn't trust him - "

"No," Jim said. "All we can realistically do is quit."

"Yeah," Blair said. "Tell him that neither of us is prepared to work with another partner, and if he wants to keep us he leaves us together; otherwise we quit. And if he says he won't give us a reference if we apply for a job in law enforcement somewhere else - we don't have to work as cops. Plenty of other jobs we can do where a reference from Cascade PD isn't needed."

"We don't even need to work," Jim added. "We both have plenty of money. Oh, we'd prefer to work at something, but we don't have to."

"I know you inherited quite a lot when your father died," Simon said, "but Blair?"

"Dad left him some money too - he knew just how much Blair did for me," Jim said. "Enough to make him financially independent, as long as he didn't squander it. But on top of that... Naomi's parents were quite wealthy, and they were killed in an accident three or four years ago. Naomi inherited the lot, and gifted half of it to Blair." He didn't need to add that when Naomi died, Blair would inherit what was left of her half.

Simon allowed a broad grin to show. "You know," he said, "I'm going to enjoy telling Josephs that he'll lose you if he tries to separate you."


End file.
